Heading Into Retirement? Avoid These States

Retirement brings a lot of questions with it. It isn’t as simple as trying on your new gold watch and riding off into the sunset. People need to think about things such as finances, whether or not they are going to downsize their living space, and, ultimately, if they want to spend their retirement in a state that offers better perks for those 65 years and up.

Kiplinger.com ranked all 50 states based on quantifiable factors that are important to retirees and penalized those with things such as high tax rates and health care costs and rewarded states that had prosperous populations of residents over the age of 65. After all the abacuses and spreadsheets were put away and the total scores added up, the website highlighted the 15 states that are the least attractive to retirees based on the site’s methodology.

Coming in as the worst state to retire in in 2016 was New York. Of the state’s 19.6 million people, 14.1 percent of them are 65-plus and have an average income of $63.174. The state has above average health care costs at $397,107 for a retired couple and is on of the least tax friendly states in the country for retirees. New York City is the epicenter of the earthquake that rattles through the entirety of the state making it such a bad choice for retirees.

Another East Coast state is just behind New York on the list; New Jersey. New Jersey suffers from many of the same issues as New York such as its high cost of living (fourth highest in the country), above average cost of healthcare for a retired couple (third highest in the country), and its rating of being one of the least tax friendly states for retirees. The state does boast the third highest average income for retirees, however, at $66,409.

Other states on the list include California (3), Illinois (5), Montana (8), Indiana (11), and Minnesota (15).

For the complete list of worst states for retirees, follow the link below.